Paz Vega Joins Pedro Almodovar's Spanish-Language Movie

She has been cast in the director’s dramedy, which shoots this summer in Spain and will be released in spring 2013.

Paz Vega will be reunited with director Pedro Almodovar this summer; the actress has joined the cast of his latest movie, LosAmantes Pasajeros (Standby Lovers).

Vega, who was born in Spain and began her career there, worked with Almodovar on the 2002 Spanish-language comedy-drama Talk to Her, which won the Oscar for best original screenplay and the a Golden Globe for best foreign-language film.

Vega made her U.S. debut in director James L. Brooks’ Spanglish. She since has starred in a number of films including The Spirit, indie 10 Items or Less, Burning Palms and Angel of Evil and is the voice Carmen in Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted, which opens June 8.

Vega is a native of Seville, Spain, and joined a theater school at age 16. She made her acting debut on Spanish television, and her first big-screen role was in 1999's Zapping.

Vega, who also is a model, replaced Penelope Cruz as the face of L’Oreal in Spain last year. She is married to Orson Salazar, with whom she had her third child in 2010.

Almodovar’s most recent film was The Skin I Live In, which grossed about $22 million worldwide and was released by Sony Pictures Classics in the U.S., where it grossed about $3.2 million.

LosAmantes Pasajeros, which Almodovar also wrote, follows a group of travelers who are placed in life-threatening situation aboard a plane flying to Mexico City. The passengers are defenseless in the face of danger, which provokes colorful confessionals that are their way to put out of mind the possibility they might be about to die. FilmNation is handling international sales.

Along with Vega, the movie stars Javier Camara (Talk to Her), Cecilia Roth (All About My Mother) and Lola Duenas (Volver). Spanish comedians Carlos Areces,Raul Arevalo and Jose Maria Yazpik are also in the cast.

Agustin Almodovar, the director’s brother, is producing the film. It is expected to shoot in Madrid this summer and will be released in spring 2013 by production company El Deseo.